Leonard, Clippers survive despite Quickley’s heroics

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Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points off the bench, but the Knicks and their defense fell short of the Clippers’ offense.

The Los Angeles Clippers (16-5) fought back to beat the New York Knicks (9-12) after an early start on the East Coast forced the West Coast-based team to wake up from their slumber. The league’s top three-point shooting team showed up to finish off the Knicks after an uncomfortably tight margin for most of the game, ultimately ending 129-115.

Kawhi Leonard, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, had a masterful performance at Madison Square Garden, scoring 28 points on 8 of 15 shots from the field with 11 for 11 from the free throw line. Leonard had several punishing buckets to break the Knicks mini-comebacks.

After Knicks top duo Julius Randle and RJ Barrett led the team to a one-point deficit in the first half, rookie goaltender Immanuel Quickley took over in the second half, turning into a micro- waves in the fourth quarter to keep New York. within striking distance. Quickley scored 14 points in the second half, including several floats that appear to magnetically find the bottom of the hoop.

The Clippers, entering today’s game, shot 41.4% from a three-point distance, according to NBA.com, and the Knicks had no response for the multiple players stretching the field and injuring New York depth. Los Angeles finished with 17 of 38 three-pointers (44.7%), including key looks from greats like Serge Ibaka and former Knicks Marcus Morris Sr. (who picked a technique).

Despite the remarkable performances of Randle (a double-double of 27 points and five assists) and Barrett (23 points on 14 shots, 5 of 6 from the foul line), the Knicks could not stay against Tyronn Lue’s attack. , who scored 66 points in the first half and 101 points in the three quarters. The Clippers have recorded the most points as the Knicks’ opponent so far this season, 129 (previously: Indiana Pacers, 121 on opening night).

From idols to rivals

Immanuel Quickley and his self-proclaimed Idol Lou Williams had a bit of a bench unit duel in the first half. The Knicks rookie scored 10 points in 11 first-half minutes, shooting 3 for 5, his only two misses coming from long-range attempts. Williams, meanwhile, demonstrated his smart and smooth game by sealing the Knicks’ defense for nine points on five shots and three assists.

At one point, in almost back-to-back possessions, Quickley flashed his patent pending float followed by a Williams float.

Quickley continued to be flexible early in his NBA career, eventually finishing with 25 points in 27 minutes on the bench (playing six minutes longer than Elfrid Payton with the controversy continuing to start in everyone’s mind. the world). Quickley joined Randle and Barrett as three Knicks to finish with over 20 points. Payton was the only other double-digit Knick (10).

Punish the perimeter game

The big clippers (including stretch four Marcus Morris) injured the Knicks on Sunday with a three-point shot. This was largely due to Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson’s preference for sticking to painting. The late closings led to the opening three-pointers of Serge Ibaka, Patrick Patterson – in his first start and eighth game this season – and Morris. (Strangely, Randle converted on his first four triples before missing one.)

Ibaka, Patterson and Morris finished with nine three points on 13 attempts – a grueling statistic considering Leonard and Paul George combined to shoot 2 for 11 from deep. Much of this, of course, was due to Leonard’s penetrating penetration and deserved extra attention from the Knicks to help defenders, allowing wide-stretching open looks when Randle and Mitchell Robinson (nine points, six rebounds) , a block) did not respect the collective of the Clippers on the outside shot.

Bench facelift

We need to talk about Austin Rivers, Obi Toppin and the Knicks bench. While Tom Thibodeau keeps a short rotation (normally we see eight or nine players registering minutes; Sunday was 10) and therefore big minutes for the beginners, there were typically horrible stretches with the bench unit. Rivers, facing his former club, shot 1 of 4 for four points and two assists while rookie forward Obi Toppin, eighth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, was 0 for 2.

Plus, with Nerlens Noel out on Sunday, Taj Gibson had his first extended minutes with the Knicks, and he struggled. Quickley was Pine’s only positive result, and Kentucky’s product was the third highest in minutes.

We saw more shuffle and match with the bench and Thibodeau starters today, with Alec Burks (3-for-8 from the field for seven points) playing an extended stretch with the starters less Payton and more Quickley.

The bottom line is that there has to be a more consistent effort on the part of the bench. Kevin Knox was a DNP-CD on Sunday and the non-starters shot 3 of 16 in threes, occasionally sinking the team without Randle and Barrett in the ball game.

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Julius Randle is an All-Star. We have seen the type of pictures Kawhi Leonard took and made; Randle was converting to similar outrageous moves and looks.
  • RJ Barrett continues to be Mr. January (Trademark: Sam DiGiovanni). In 16 games in January, Barrett averaged 18.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists, shooting 47.9% from the field, 35.1% from threes and 75.0% from the free throw line.
  • No idea what happened with Knox tonight, regarding the aforementioned DNP. The Knicks could have used his three-point shot against Los Angeles.
  • Marcus Morris was T’d in the last minute of the game, of course.
  • Mitchell Robinson: two fouls in 30 minutes. This continues to be a positive trend for the third year center.

The Knicks are preparing for two straight road games with the Chicago Bulls, starting tomorrow with a day off between clashes. Chicago comes out of a deflating buzzer-drummer by Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Go check if you haven’t if you want to smile.

Related content

READ: Going or not, Immanuel Quickley makes Knicks’ promise to point guard

READ: Mitchell Robinson definitely wins starting center spot

READ: Could detaching Julius Randle from RJ Barrett unlock the guard’s offense?



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